“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-11 ESV
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Genesis 3:1 NASB (emphasis mine) Read full chapter
Comment: Satan is crafty. He will try to make us doubt God’s Word. He is tricky, manipulative, deceitful, deceptive, shrewd, and clever. Don’t fall for his schemes!
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
One of Satan’s favorite weapons is discouragement. I get discouraged sometimes, but the Lord always picks me back up. Sometimes encouragement comes through another person who is walking closely with God. This happened recently when I read Devotional Treasures by Alan Kearns. You can read it here.
Alan said, “It is not our ability that matters, but rather the Might of our Father God.” That hit me right between the eyes!
The Lord was showing me that if I have doubts and fears about my ministry (and we all have a ministry, you know) it’s because I’m taking all the responsibility on myself instead of depending on Him and trusting Him to accomplish His will. He has promised,
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8 NIV
Satan likes to attack our minds, making us think his lies are true. Doubts, fears, frustrations, distractions, and even fatigue may be the attack of the enemy. The following verses show us that the enemy attacks our minds.
“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV
I love the story of Nehemiah and how he led the exiles back to Jerusalem where they were obeying God and rebuilding the demolished walls of the city. You can read about it in Nehemiah, chapters 4-6 here.
These chapters reveal how the enemy tried to stop the work God had given them to do: rebuilding the walls. So don’t be surprised if the enemy tries to stop the work God has given YOU to do!
Nehemiah and the Rebuilding of the Wall
Whether you are writing a blog, teaching a Bible Study, going to the mission field, pastoring a church, working in the nursery, or building a wall, the enemy’s plan is, first and foremost, to STOP THE WORK.
Satan’s plan is to make you give up!
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV
If we depend on our own abilities and strength we will fail. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-11 NIV (emphasis mine)
Be strong in the Lord!
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
(Satan) is amazingly effective at making lies believable … the only hope we have of being able to spot his lies is to be intimately familiar with the truth. We must be so well versed in the truth, so faithful to the truth, and such a doer of truth that he will not be able to deceive us with his lies. Apart from the Word of God, we are sitting ducks!”
Jim Osman, Truth or Territory?
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Many years ago, when I was in a Word of Faith church, I was wrongly taught that we had “revelation knowledge”. It was actually a prideful attitude, thinking we knew and understood so much more than that “religious” church down the street.
We naively sought understanding from the many books written by false teachers that could be found in our bookstore. Some of these errant teachings on spiritual warfare have permeated evangelical Christianity.
I decided to set aside everything I had learned from “Bible teachers” and books and to seek understanding about spiritual warfare from the Bible alone.
What the Bible says about spiritual warfare is straightforward and plain to see. There is no mysterious, hidden meaning that only the spiritual elite can understand. The Bible warns us about the ways of Satan. It also tells us how to stand against his schemes. Only by reading and studying God’s Word daily will we learn these things. There is no shortcut.
Spiritual Warfare isn’t some mysterious prayer technique. In fact, it really isn’t that complicated at all. In its purest form, engaging in spiritual warfare is proclaiming the Gospel and speaking the Truth in God’s Word.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Romans 1:16
Stop and think about that for a moment. The world today believes many lies that literally shock the senses! I won’t list them here because you already know what they are.
“True spiritual warfare is a battle for the minds of men because they are held in bondage to Satan by believing the lies that he (Satan) has told them.”
The Christian’s battle (true spiritual warfare) is not a feeling, an intuition or an imaginative experience in the spirit realm – however real it might seem.”
To be a mighty warrior, we must trust in God’s Word. We must study it to be prepared. Consider this familiar passage on spiritual warfare. Notice that this passage is about how to “STAND”. Why do we need to know how to stand? Because in today’s world, standing for truth can have its dangers. You might not be executed if you are fortunate enough to live in the West. But you could lose your job, your friends, or be outright hated and persecuted.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evilin the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Our battle is not against people. It’s against the devil and his demonic forces. Our only weapon is the Word of God, the Truth. But to stand against the devil’s schemes, we have been given “the armor of God”. Our faith (trust in God and His might) is our Shield.
Ultimately, spiritual warfare is not about a technique to battle demons. It is proclaiming God’s Word in a world under Satanic deception to a people who walk in darkness.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus (John 8:12 NIV)
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.” Revelation 12:9 NIV (emphasis mine)
My thoughts: This explains a lot!
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 AMP
We know the enemy is actively working to deceive unbelievers, but he is also working to deceive the Church. It was true in the first century and it is true today. The Bible repeatedly warns us about Satan’s evil strategy to deceive “even the elect”.
“For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.See, I have told you ahead of time.” Matthew 24:24-25 NIV
The Bible strongly and clearly warns us that Satan will try to deceive us. We must be on our guard. We must be careful not to believe everything we hear, but instead to be like the Bereans who “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)
Imagine that! The Apostle Paul was personally teaching them about Jesus, but still, they checked the Scriptures every day to see if what he said was true! We should be so wise!
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people … but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Romans 16:17-20 NIV (emphasis mine)
The Amplified Bible says, “They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting…” We like to think we aren’t naive but are we unsuspecting?
The Greek word translated as naive in the NIV is akakos. It means unsuspecting or innocent. Many Christians are led astray by false teaching. Sometimes it’s because they don’t know the Scripture. And sometimes it’s because they are innocent and unsuspecting. In fact, they are often enthusiastic and eager to learn! Remember, leading this assault on truth is Satan.
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 NIV
The Apostle Paul is warning Christians that Satan will try to deceive them just as he deceived Eve.
I am astounded at the level of false teaching flooding the Church today. It was bad in Paul’s day, but it is even worse now. YouTube and Book Publishing have given the wolves in sheep’s clothing the ability to quickly make money and gather a following. Even good, Bible-believing churches are giving a nod to books and Bible studies that are not sound. Satan is behind all of this. He is a liar and there is no truth in him.
We must heed the Bible’s many warnings and carefully examine what is being taught, comparing it to Scripture.
Satan’s strongest defense against spiritual discernment, his ace in the hole, is to make the Christian think he can’t be deceived.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:8-11 NIV
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” Nehemiah 4:6-9 NIV Read full chapter
The strategy of the enemy has not changed: he comes when God’s servants are weary, tempting and discouraging them in hopes that they will give up. Fatigue, frustration, failure, and fear are common enemies whenever believers undertake a work for God. But this is precisely when Yahweh steps in and strengthens His people.”
David Jeremiah Study Bible Notes
Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
We lived out in the country, in the middle of the woods. It was a beautiful setting for a family with a new baby, except for the lizards, mice, and snakes that occasionally liked to sneak into our house!
One day, looking for a certain baby toy, I was feeling around in a box on a closet shelf above my head, I pulled out a handful of small toys to see if I had what I was looking for. Among the baby rattles and teethers, I grasped a 3 foot snake skin! With a loud scream, I threw it all in the air!
That was the second time I found a snake skin in my house. Being more of a city girl, I was terrified that something would bite my baby or that a snake might slither into my bed during the night. This is the time in my life when I learned the power of believing the Word of God and putting my complete trust in the Lord. One day I came across Psalm 4:8.
“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Every night I would pray: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I would pray this over and over until I fell asleep. I lived in that house for 9 years. Eventually, peace enveloped me and I slept without fear.
When you are afraid, thank the Lord for these promises:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6 & 7
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
How are we robbed of this peace? The Bible says the devil is a liar. When thoughts come into our minds that bring fear and anxiety, we know Satan is trying to steal the promise of God.
“Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” Luke 8:12
“… the devil … was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
“Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:10
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
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